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SEO Proposal Template for Consultants

A two-phase SEO proposal (audit, then ongoing work) that you can copy and adapt. After the template: why leading with findings wins more SEO clients than leading with a process, and how to talk about results honestly.

Updated September 30, 2026

The template

SEO proposal template
SEO PROPOSAL: [Client website]
Prepared for: [Client name], [Company]
Prepared by: [Your name]
Date: [Date]   Valid until: [Date + 30 days]

1. WHAT I FOUND
From a first look at [domain]:
- [Finding 1, e.g. "Service pages aren't targeting the terms customers search for; the main page is titled 'Solutions'."]
- [Finding 2, e.g. "Around 40 old blog URLs return errors after last year's redesign."]
- [Finding 3, e.g. "Competitors have location pages for each city you serve; you have one contact page."]

2. GOAL
Grow qualified organic traffic to [the pages that bring in business] and the enquiries that come from it. We'll set a baseline from [Search Console / analytics] in month one and report against it.

3. PHASE 1: AUDIT AND FIXES (MONTH 1)
- Technical audit: crawl errors, redirects, indexing, page speed, mobile issues
- Keyword research for [number] core services, mapped to pages
- On-page recommendations for [number] priority pages: titles, headings, content gaps, internal links
- Implementation of [fixes, if you have access] or a prioritised list for your developer

4. PHASE 2: ONGOING (MONTHS 2-6)
- [Number] new or rewritten pages or articles per month, based on the keyword plan
- Monthly technical check and fixes
- [Optional: local SEO: Google Business Profile updates, citation clean-up]
- A monthly report: rankings for tracked terms, organic traffic, enquiries, and what's planned next

5. NOT INCLUDED
- Paid search (PPC)
- Buying links or any tactic against search engine guidelines
- Website redesign or development beyond small on-page fixes
- Content beyond the monthly quota above

6. WHAT I NEED FROM YOU
- Access to Google Search Console, analytics and the website CMS
- A contact who can approve content and answer questions about your services
- Sign-off on new content within [5] business days

7. INVESTMENT
Phase 1: [price], one-off
Phase 2: [price] per month, minimum [3] months, then [30] days' notice

8. A NOTE ON RESULTS
Search results depend on competition and on search engines' own changes, so no one can honestly guarantee rankings. What I commit to is the work above, done to a clear plan, with monthly reporting so you can see what it's doing.

9. NEXT STEPS
Accept this proposal and share access to Search Console and analytics, and I'll start the audit.

The findings in section 1 are placeholders. Replace them with what you actually found on the client's site.

Lead with what you found

SEO proposals often open with a long description of the consultant's process, which reads the same as every other one the client received. Opening with two or three specific findings from their own site proves you looked, and turns the proposal into an answer instead of a pitch. An hour of checking their site before you write is usually worth it.

Why split it into phases

An audit phase gives the client a smaller first decision and gives you a baseline and a real plan before you commit to monthly deliverables. The ongoing phase can then be scoped from what the audit found, not from guesses.

Talking about results honestly

Don't guarantee rankings or traffic. Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO warns that no one can guarantee a top ranking, and a client who's been burned before will know it. Commit to the work, the plan and the reporting, and agree on the measures you'll review each month.

Access and exclusions

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